Bonnie Barrett-Wood passed away Dec. 22 in Richland, Wash.

On Aug. 15, 1930, Bonnie Jean Krueger was born to Art and Irene Krueger in the Valley View Hospital in Burns. Bonnie was a resident of Harney County until 2014 when she moved to Tri-Cities, Wash., to be near family.

After Bonnie, the Krueger family welcomed her sister, Joann, and brother, John. A self-motivated young girl, Bonnie’s first job was delivering newspapers. As a teenager, she worked in the movie theater, as well as the Five and Dime store run by the Eberlys. Bonnie felt that the responsibility instilled in her by Mr. Eberly gave her confidence when she opened the Sears Catalog Store in downtown Burns in 1965, when fewer than 4 percent of women owned their own business. She successfully ran the store until 1982. She worked with brilliant women during those years, some who became lifelong friends, and several who went on to start their own businesses. A role model for her kids and grandkids, Bonnie once told her granddaughter, “Never be afraid to do something you really want to do.”

Bonnie graduated from Burns Union High School in 1948, and went on to college at Eastern Oregon for a year. She married Ronald Barrett in 1949, and the couple settled in Hines, where Ron worked on the Oregon and Northwestern Railroad and Bonnie was a homemaker. During those early years with young children, Bonnie was president and an active member of the Burns Mother’s Club.

With the sudden death of Ron in 1970, a community of friends rallied to support Bonnie. Years following, the Sears store prospered, and she encouraged her children to complete college.

In 1980, she married Bob Wood. Until Bob’s death in 1989, they traveled to every state in the union, every road in Oregon, and to Russia and China as part of a delegation of dentists.

A lifelong golfer, Bonnie was a member and the first woman president of the Valley Golf Club in Hines. She played golf well into her 70s and continued meeting with friends at the club to play cards until she moved to Washington.

Serving on the board of directors and helping organize the church’s 100th year celebration, Bonnie was an enduring member of the Pioneer Presbyterian Church.

Bonnie is survived by her  brother, John Krueger (Nancy); daughter, Stephanie Barrett Herndobler; sons, Lance (Teresa) Barrett, and Scott (Sherry) Barrett; grandchildren, Gretchen McFadden, Jay Herndobler, Drew Barrett, Alex Barrett, and Jack Barrett; great-grandchildren, Rebecca, Ryan, Brady, Molly, and Joella; cousin, Sherrill Yates; brother-in-law, Louis Ash; 11 nieces; and six nephews.

Bonnie was preceded in death by her parents, Art and Irene; sister, Joann Ash; husbands, Ronald Barrett and Robert Wood; and nephew, Joe Barrett.

Remembrances may be made in her name to Harney County Dollars for Scholars.

A celebration of Bonnie’s life will be held in Burns this summer (2019). The time and place will be announced at a later date.